Twilight Imperium is also cool, but it's a monster. I got it at the same time as Arkham Horror (birthday) but haven't been able to play it yet because you need at least three people (unless you want to use one of the unofficial two-player variants). But I have done a couple solo rounds to get the hang of the turn flow, and I'm really looking forward to when I can get a proper game going.

Guys, I just ordered Seafarers of Catan — it looked like the best expansion to start with. How are the others?

beware twilight! i have usually played 3 players and some one will always win through imperial card just as we are getting our war on. seems like it is really meant for 5-6 players. also its 12 hours and the finer points are massively vague in the rulebook

Last time I played Scrabble I scored a shitload of points off "macabre" and my girlfriend challenged me then cried when I won the challenge. She declared I was no longer allowed to "use words that don't sound like real words".

I win Monopoly on the light blues every damn time. But I fear for an XBLA version, since matches take upwards of 4 hours. That, and I'd probably have to deal with one of the many American versions instead of good ol' London monopoly.

Hey man, there is nothing wrong with Atlantic City.

I love original Risk, sure it's simplistic and often dumb but it's simple enough to jump right into so it's great to just invite some people over and conquer the world over (and after) dinner.

Arkham Horror I absolutely must try. I think it'll be my Christmas present.

Scrabble is great, but now I play Quiddler instead usually; it's a similar idea but with cards, and the whole thing feels more open-ended and less restricting.

Quiddler's great; that's another one I got for my birthday. I like how the scoring is all about the words you make — no lucky breaks for triple-letter scores and the like. Upwords is also fun for the same reason.

Quiddler's great; that's another one I got for my birthday. I like how the scoring is all about the words you make — no lucky breaks for triple-letter scores and the like. Upwords is also fun for the same reason.

Well, there's the score bonuses for longest word and most words in a hand, but those are clearly meant to encourage creative play, rather than putting down "OX" or something on a certain tile.

Cities and Knights is not to be played lightly. Inexperienced people can get ground into dust while the barbarians ravage the land. I haven't played it in a long while, but at the time I thought it was a nice change of pace, but not a replacement. Even without playing, I dispute the idea that Risk 2112: By-Tor Edition is the best game ever (tm).

Dunno if I mentioned it before, but Sequence is good clean fun and dirt cheap. You basically play Bingo with a two decks of cards and a board set up so all the squares show card faces. Cool elements of strategy come into play too; do I play this card and get closer to my sequence? Or that one to block my opponent...?

Blockus is one I almost buy every time I go to the store, but the $30 price tag has stayed my wallet so far. Thoughts?